What’s all the fuss about trust? Why does it matter so much, especially for women leaders? Across decades of research from organizations like Harvard Business Review, Deloitte, Edelman, and McKinsey, one message is consistent: the number one expectation people have of leaders is trustworthiness. Not charisma. Not vision. Trust. High trust cultures outperform low trust ones in productivity, innovation, wellbeing, and retention. Neuroscience research by Paul Zak even shows that high trust organizations experience significantly higher engagement and lower stress.
Trust influences how decisions are made, how actions land, and how leadership is perceived. For women leaders, trust is contextual, It is shaped by credibility, history, visibility, expectations, and unspoken assumptions. For us, risk is rarely just about the action itself. The same decision can feel far riskier depending on how much trust is present trust in yourself, trust from others, and trust in the systems around you.
Understanding the Risk Equation
A simple leadership framework helps explain this:
Risk = Activity × Importance ÷ Trust
This equation shows that risk isn’t fixed. It grows when trust is low and settles when trust is strong. For many women, the trust “denominator” often starts lower than it should. Women are frequently asked to prove competence repeatedly before receiving the same baseline trust more readily extended to others. That makes bold moves feel heavier, even when the leader is capable, prepared, and aligned.
The Difference Between Wielding Power and Building Trust
Sometimes, though, people confuse fear with trust. Dominant, power driven leaders may gain short term compliance because people are afraid afraid of consequences, instability, or being excluded. But fear is not trust. Fear suppresses honesty, discourages creativity, and creates fragile systems that depend on control. Over time, trust erodes, morale drops, and leaders become isolated. When trust disappears, leadership becomes exhausting for everyone involved.
What Builds Trust?
So what actually creates trust? Surprisingly simple things: doing what you say you’ll do, telling the truth, owning mistakes, listening well, and resisting gossip or back channel conversations that undermine credibility. Trust grows in small, consistent moments and it deteriorates just as quickly when words and actions don’t match. This is where self trust becomes a radical act for women leaders. When a woman trusts her own intuition, experience, and expertise, perceived risk naturally decreases. Conversations feel steadier. Decisions feel clearer. Self trust allows movement through uncertainty without shrinking, over explaining, or second guessing.
Trust as a Team Performance Multiplier
At the relational level, trust transforms teams. Qualities often associated with women’s leadership empathy, emotional intelligence, attunement, and connection aren’t “soft.” They are performance multipliers. They create psychological safety, which is the foundation for innovation, collaboration, and resilience. When women intentionally build trust ecosystems within themselves, within relationships, and within organizations, the entire risk equation changes. Important work becomes energizing instead of overwhelming. Bold action feels grounded instead of dangerous.
Trust doesn’t remove risk, it reframes it
Ultimately, trust doesn’t remove risk it reframes it. It turns risk from something to fear into something to lead through. Because when trust rises, risk settles. And when risk settles, women rise.
About the Author
Rev. Dr. Shea has worked throughout six continents, with world leaders, Fortune 500 CEOs, household names in business, politics, and entertainment. Leadership visionary, speaker, talk show host, author, intuitive healer, and everyday mystic. She can be reached at heather@everydayknowings.com.
